help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

Cracked the cabin hatch ontop of the deck the other day while I was buffing the deck. I was going to replace the whole hatch but they are $400 from Bomar to replace. Does anyone know what type of plastic they use? Thinking of just getting a replacement plastic cover and be done with it.

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

High Molecular Weight(HMW) Polyethylene or Ultra HMW PE should work nicely. It's a tough, durable plastic that comes in sheets(natural color is an opaque white). I'm pretty sure that's what my Bomar hatches were made of.

Check here: http://www.thecuttingboardfactory.com

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

Might also give Wolfs Marine a try out of Benton Harbor MI. From what Ive heard they have a scrapyard over there, may be able to pick up a used one. Their number is 269-926-1068, or www.wolfsmarine.com.

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

hmpe= HIGH MOLECULAR WEIGHT POLYETHYLENE
HDPE= high density polyethylene..
they both will warp with heat..........try lexan or clear rigid pvc............m.m............we make the prop cases out of HDPE...............................mark........... .p.s.......if you need poly let me know what color and size...............m.m.........

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/BOMAR...spagenameZWDVW

This ebay auction claims that Bomar hatches are acrylic.

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

Polyethylene plastic is characterized by toughness, near-zero moisture absorption, excellent chemical resistance, excellent electrical chemical resistance, excellent electrical insulating properties, low coefficient of friction, and ease of processing. Polyethylene plastics are classified by density and the primary differences are in rigidity, heat resistance, chemical resistance, and ability to sustain loads. In general, as density increases, hardness, heat resistance, stiffness, and resistance to permeability increase.

Crystalline melting point of the material is 267 ° F. Recommended maximum service temperature is about 200 ° F.

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

It very well might be. I hate the stuff, though. It's brittle and it cracks. :(

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

ge lexan is bullet proof...............mark..........poly warps and grows in heat ..........mark........

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

I was sure they were made out of plutonium, with the prices they charge for a new one, :eek: , I know a guy who knows a guy in texas who rebuilds or makes custom hatches pretty cheap,I will get his number if you are interested. Mine were cracked, so I just took out a few small fiber glass matt strips and some resin and put mine back together and sprayed them, came out reall good. so if you have to replace it anyway, give repairing it yourself a try, its fun, the fumes make you feel good for a while :evilb: , and who knows you might actually like your work. :drink:

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

I used HDPE to build some cockpit stuff out of, and I'll tell you I'll never use Starboard again. The HDPE is stiffer, lighter, stronger, and doesn't warp like starboard. Lean a pieced of starboard against a wall, then wait about an hour and look at it. Do the same thing with the HDPE, and it will still be straight as an arrow. Oh, did I mention it cost less than even the strarboard knock offs? Another great thing is you can glue it together with regular PVC cement, like you'd use on your sprinkler system. Absolutely nothing will bond starboard together, they will even tell you that. I took two pieces of starboard, and stuck them together with 5200, which as everyone knows, sticks like a sumb1tch. You'll usually pull of gel coat before you can pull off 5200. Anyway, I let it cure for three days, walked out and pulled it apart with my bare hands.

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

Also, I might mention it's very easy to work with. Cut it with a regular circular saw, or table saw. You can get a special platic cutting blade, but it doesn't make much difference. It's very easy to shape an edge on it with a router too, to make a bullnose edge. A helluva a lot easier to work with than plywood.

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

Cuda, Where do you get the HDPE? It sounds like good stuff.

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

I stock black,high visibility yellow,olive drab,and light grey in various sizes and thickness.............If you want I would cut you what you need.No charge..........mark...........p.s........dont believe it comes in clear.............

Re: help! fell through my cabin hatch and broke it, ouch.
 

I use 40 thousand pounds a month.........call me I will send you what you need....just put in heat to see reaction.........mark........1 305 542 5029.....................m.m........